Representatives from Most of the World’s Peoples. The Allies Want Payments, Wilson Wants the League of Nations. Special to The Great War Project. (21 January) On January 18th 1919 in the gilded Salle de la Paix of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Quai d’Orsay, the Paris Peace Conference finally begins. So reports…
Tag Archive for Woodrow Wilson
WILSON IN ROME, ITALY IN TURMOIL
by Mike Shuster
Golden Sand in the Streets of the Eternal City. Wilson in a Foul Mood. Special to The Great Project (1 January) On New Year’s Day a century ago, “in a royal train provided by the Italian government, President Wilson and his wife headed for Rome,” the fourth of the Allies that fought the Germans to…
A BLUE PRINT FOR POST-WAR PEACE
by Mike Shuster
Wilson’s Fourteen Points Excite the World. The American President an Instant Hero Special to The Great War Project. (14 January) So far, in this war, from its beginning in the summer of 1914 until the start of this new year, a century ago, there has been no comprehensive statement of the war aims of both…
A VOLUNTEER ARMY OR THE DRAFT?
by Mike Shuster
Confusion from the President and Congress Wilson Favors Draft; Congress Against. American Troops to France? Good Lord! Special to The Great War Project (15 May) Early in April 1917 the United States declares war on Germany, but from President Woodrow Wilson on down, many American leaders display an enormous naivete about what the declaration of…
WAR IS IN THE AIR
by Mike Shuster
Wilson Prepares Congress for Conflict, But No Declaration Yet. The Shell-Shocked Words of a Poet. Special to The Great War Project (2 April) Pro-war meetings break out in rapid succession across the United States. “As March turned to April,” writes historian Margaret Wagner, “pro-war mass meetings occurred in Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, Denver, and Manchester, New…
WAR FEVER BUILDS IN U.S.
by Mike Shuster
Wilson’s Cabinet Votes for War But Disagreement on How to Support It. Thousands Meet, Cheer for War. Special to The Great War Project (26 March) Stalemate, bloody and murderous stalemate — that’s the state of play for the contending powers at this moment in the Great War, a century ago. Even as Russia plunges into…
PRESSURE ON U.S. INTENSIFIES
by Mike Shuster
Wilson to Congress: I Am a Man of Peace, But U.S. Must Arm American Ships. The Slow, Slow Creep to War. Special to The Great War Project (26 February) With President Woodrow Wilson’s decision to break diplomatic relations with Germany a century ago, debate about possible American entry into the war heightens. “Debate about the…
A TRULY GLOBAL WAR
by Mike Shuster
As 1916 Ends, A Yearning for Peace; But the Slaughter Continues. Special to The Great War Project. (1 January) As 1917 begins, the war just keeps on spreading, on all fronts. Eleven European nations are now at war, plus the Turkish Ottoman empire which is fighting mostly in Asia. The Allied side,” observes historian Martin…
BRITAIN REELING TOWARD BANKRUPTCY
by Mike Shuster
A Catastrophe for US Munitions Factories French Morale ‘Cracking’ A Secret Deal to Bring the U.S. In Special to The Great War Project. (28-30 November, 1-3 December) As the end of 1916 approaches, Britain is going broke. “Not even J. P Morgan,” writes historian Thomas Fleming, “could come up with enough money to keep pace…
PRESIDENT WILSON MAINTAINS CLAIM OF AMERICAN NEUTRALITY
by Mike Shuster
But Huge Loans and Arms Sales to Allies Bring Doubts. German Sabotage in U.S. Spreading. Special to The Great War Project (25-28 December) The American President, Woodrow Wilson, spends 1915 keeping the United States out of the war. But his policy of neutrality is making that a hard stance to maintain. Wilson believes neutrality means…